Portugal is the sixth country in the European Union with the most road deaths

Portugal became the sixth country in the European Union (EU) with the most road deaths in 2022, recording 60 deaths per million inhabitants, above the EU average of 46 deaths per million inhabitants.

Data presented in a special report by the European Court of Auditors (TCE) on road safety published on Tuesday shows that the average road fatality rate in Spain is below 40 deaths per million inhabitants, placing the neighboring country in seventh place. in the EU ranking in 2022.

Sweden, according to the table, is the country with the fewest deaths per million inhabitants in EU member states, recording 20 deaths per million inhabitants in 2022, followed by Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Finland and Estonia, all with less than 40 deaths per million inhabitants. million inhabitants. million inhabitants.

At the bottom of the table, Romania was the EU country with the highest number of road traffic deaths in 2022 (more than 80 deaths per million inhabitants), followed by Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Latvia and, in sixth place, Portugal.

Despite the high accident rate in 2022, Portugal has reduced the number of deaths compared to 2010, when the country recorded more than 90 deaths per million inhabitants, the TCE report highlights.

When it comes to the age of vehicles on EU roads, the report, based on 2021 data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), places Portugal in the middle of the table, along with Spain, with an average vehicle age of 13.5 years. years, but almost double the average age (7.6 years) of vehicles in Luxembourg, the youngest in the EU.

Greece, with an average vehicle age of 17 years, and Estonia, with an age of 16.8 years in 2022, were the EU countries with the oldest cars in circulation and some five years older than the EU average age of 12 years.

As a key finding of the report, TCE stresses that the EU and EU countries “must try harder” otherwise they will fail to meet the target of halving the number of road deaths by 2030. value for 2019, the year in which 22,800 people died on EU roads.

“However, the reduction should be only a quarter of this cost,” estimates TCE, stressing that in order to achieve the goal, the EU and member states “must move on an accelerated path.”

The ECA also recommends that the European Commission encourage Member States to carry out detailed investigations into the causes of accidents, especially at critical points, and promote the preparation of harmonized reports in this regard – a measure that should be completed by 2026.